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By Gary Dzen, Boston.com Staff

FOXBOROUGH -- Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw for 344 yards and three touchdowns in Sunday's 41-28 win over the Texans at Gillette Stadium. Those are numbers that fall squarely on the shoulders of defensive end J.J. Watt and the Houston defense.

"We didn't play a good game and they played a very good game," Watt said afterward. "They're moving on and we're not. So congrats to them."

Houston made it a game late in the second quarter, scoring 10 straight points in 75 seconds to cut the lead to 17-13 at the break.

"We came into halftime feeling good," said Watt. "We came out in the second half and didn't perform. We needed to create turnovers in the second half and didn't do that."

The big reason for New England's success, as it often is, was Brady. The Patriots quarterback did not turn the ball over and handled Watt's pressure at the line well.

"He's a very good football player," Watt said of Brady. "He's one of the best for a reason. We need to hit him and we need to knock some balls down, and we didn't do that.

"I can't stand losing. I can't stand any aspect of it. The taste in your mouth is terrible. We lost and we're going home tonight. We're not going on."

Before the game, several reporters saw Watt spit on the Patriots' logo at midfield during pre-game warmups, and postgame Watt confirmed that he did it - and that it's part of his routine.

"I do that every game, home or away," said Watt. "I go out to midfield, I jog out there, I spit a little bit, wipe my feet off and then I go through my stretch. No drama there. That's 100 percent what I do every game, home or away."

-- Texans running back Arian Foster heard it from some Patriots fans as he left the field through the tunnel after the game. He left the locker room without speaking to reporters.